The Movie Hairspray (Waters, 1988)

THE MOVIE HAIRSPRAY (WATERS, 1988)1

The Movie Hairspray (Waters, 1988)

Following the American Psychological Association Style Guide

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Introduction

This paper will analyze the film Hairspray (Waters, 1988) that is based on the story of a teenage chubby girl named Tracy who creates some fame for herself in a small town in Maryland and also becomes involved in race issues in that town, as well as helps to lead to a happy ending in the movie of the racial mixtures of the town integrating better during the 1960s.

This essay will examine the film through the viewpointof one of the broad theories I have learned about in class such as formalist theory, genre theory and auteur theory. My analysis will address four main areas which are the contextual information, story/plot, aesthetic choices of the film and the social/personal impact of the film as well as connect how these aspects work together to produce and to create the film Hairspray (Waters, 1988). As I construct my analysis, I will assume that the reader is not familiar with this film. I will use my analysis to explain to my reader why they should watch this film.

I will also include the contextual information regarding the film such as the title, director, cinematographer, major actors/actresses, describe the roles of the actors/actresses, the year of release and the type of film Hairspray (Waters, 1988) is. I will include the story/plot and the aesthetic choices for the film such as film angles, lighting and editing. I will also note the technology of the film as well as discuss the film’s social impact and the film’s personal impact on myself.

The thesis of this essay is to show that by John Waters creating a film to an accessible audience, he was able to create a film that had a lasting social impact regarding the issues of race and weight respectively. First I will discuss the film through the genre theory.

Genre Theory

The genre of the film is commonly known for its “campiness” and is one of Director John Waters most mainstream films. Hairspray is set in the 1960s. The film location for the set is in Baltimore, although the location in the film is in Maryland. Tracy, the star of the movie, enters a dance competition with her best friend. The best friend fumbles and does not do well with the performance. Another beautiful young woman whose parents is wealthy and owns a hotel that does not allow Black people also fumbles with the dance competition. A young Black woman who tries to win the dance competition is told that “Negro Day is on Thursday.” Thus, Tracy, chubby but cute Tracy who is played by Ricki Lake who once had her own talk show wins the dance competition.

Further drama unfolds and Tracy becomes involved with the Black people at her school through the special education courses that are designed to hold back Black students. Tracy starts to get involved with civil rights actions, particularly against the young beautiful woman who was extremely upset that she did not win the dance competition and her parents for not allowing Black people into their hotel. By the end of the movie, a bomb is set off to stop Tracy from dating a young Black man who she is dating and it goes off on the young beautiful woman and her racist parents and then Tracy gets everyone to dance.

The genre of this film through the theory that we have learned in class is based on a general audience and appeals to a mass market of viewers. When VHS came out in the 1980s and 1990s, Hairspray (Waters, 1988) saw a revival. It became a “cult classic” through home video and was released on Blu-Ray in 2014.

According to Bernstein & John (2009), the movie Hairspray (1988) was particularly revolutionary for having the character who was overweight and/or chubby Tracy as the lead character. Such a character according to Bernstein & John (2009) created an open door for the success of such shows as Roseanne (Williams, 1988-1997) that starred Roseanne Barr and John Goodman. Next, I will discuss the contextual information.

Contextual Information

Some historical background to the state of Maryland and all over the United States during the 1960s, there were places where Black people could not even eat in the main dining area with other White people. Black people needed to eat at a restaurant in the back where the garbage bins were and where the Black Cook could feed them directly. Black people were not allowed to sit at the front of a bus with other White people. They had to sit at the back of the bus. They were considered second-class citizens and racism was rampant. One main illustration of this is that many Black people also did not have the right to vote during those times. By Director John Waters framing his film around the backdrop of the 1960s and including both Black and White characters in his film Hairspray (Waters, 1988) he was making a subtle, but important point that we must not be divided as a people regardless of what color we are. We need to be unified as the Human Race. If Tracy could get everyone – Black and White to dance in the end – then at least it was a dance of peace. Next, I will discuss the aesthetic choices of the film.

Aesthetic Choices of the Film

With an aesthetic that was ideal for home television, rather than the sprawling landscape scenes of Adventure and Western films, Hairspray (Waters, 1988) is in every way an accessible film. The clothes that the actors wear all are inspired by the fashions of the 1960s, the soundtrack to the film is so good that this film actually became a musical on Broadway and toured throughout the world. Another remake of Hairspray (Shankman, 2007) starring John Travolta and Queen Latifah shows the popularity of this originally John Waters’ movie. The film was shot on eight millimeter film. Next, I will discuss the social impact further.

Social Impact

The social impact of a movie such as John Waters’ Hairspray (1988) has had such a lasting effect that people still refer to the movie today. Some critics thought that the movie was not good which is why it ranks on the Rotten Tomatoes list for films, however it also ranks as 144 on the best 200 films of all time for 2008. This is to say that reviews of Hairspray (1988) have been mixed. It continues to have a cult following among many young people, particularly being a John Waters film that has a parental guidance rating. This particular film of John Waters is the only film where he received a parental guidance rating from the film rating authorities.

The film was instrumental in discussing race issues and showing how much things have changed in current America versus the way things were in 1960s America. As well, the film was instrumental in showing that “Fat can also be Beautiful.” This is a powerful statement to make in a world of people sometimes starving themselves to death in order to stay thin and over exercising in order to stay thin. On the issues of race and weight, Hairspray (Waters, 1988) holds the soul well. Next, I will conclude.

Conclusion

This paper analyzed the film Hairspray (Waters, 1988) that is based on the story of a teenage chubby girl named Tracy who creates some fame for herself in a small town in Maryland and also becomes involved in race issues in that town, as well as helps to lead to a happy ending in the movie of the racial mixtures of the town integrating better during the 1960s.

This essay was 1,500 to 1,800 words in length and will analyze the film through the lens of one of the broad theories I have learned about in class (auteur theory, genre theory, formalist theory). My analysis addressed four main areas (contextual information, story/plot, aesthetic choices, and social/personal impact) and how these areas work together to develop the theme of the movie. As I constructed my analysis, I assumed that the reader is not familiar with this film. I used my analysis to explain to my reader why they should watch this film.

Everything was being cited in American Psychological Association (APA) format, including the feature-length film, as well as included at least three scholarly articles. I also included the contextual information regarding the film such as the title, director, cinematographer, major actors/actresses; describe the roles of the actors/actresses, the year of release and the type of film Hairspray (Waters, 1988) is. I included the story/plot and the aesthetic choices for the film such as film angles, lighting and editing. I also noted the technology of the film as well as discuss the film’s social impact and the film’s personal impact on myself.

References

Bernstein, B., & John, M. S. (2009). The Roseanne Benedict Arnolds. The Fat Studies Reader,

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Shankman, A. (2007). Hairspray. [Motion Picture]. Retrieved from:

Waters, J. (1988). Hairspray. [Motion Picture]. Retrieved from:

Williams, M. (1988-1997). Roseanne. [TV Show]. Retrieved from: